‘Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb’
is one of those rare comedies that doesn’t date its humor. Perhaps
because the threat of nuclear destruction will be around as long as the
weapons remain, black humor on the topic -- done properly -- remains
forever topical.

Directed by Stanley Kubrick, with a screenplay by Kubrick, Peter George
(author of the novel ‘Red Alert,’ on which the film is based) &
Terry Southern, ‘Strangelove’ tells of what happens when one U.S. Air
Force commander, Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) unilaterally decides
to bomb Russia. Alas, the Russians were just about to announce their
new doomsday device, which will destroy the world if they suffer
nuclear attack. With an ineffectual President (Peter Sellers) and a
loony scientific advisor (Sellers again) dithering with the Joint
Chiefs of Staff over how to stop the disaster in progress, it’s up to
one lonely Royal Air Force captain (Sellers in a third role) to try to
get the general to abort the bombers.

The DVD does right by ‘Strangelove’s’ irregular, shifting aspect ratio,
though one or two shots have some very nasty jagged tops. The
black-and-white photography has transferred beautifully for the most
part, though there are some fairly ugly print scratches in Chapters 3
and 26. Chapter 6 has a nifty echoing microphone sound effect that
comes through admirably and Chapter 17 has vivid gunfire audio, even if
the documentary style momentarily muddies the accompanying exterior
shots.

For starters, it’s a great pleasure to see Sellers at the top of his
form in three entirely different roles; it’s also a lot of fun to see a
young George C. Scott, Keenan Wynn and even James Earl Jones stepping
up to the brilliant, deadpan dialogue. Kubrick alternates between
crispy photographed dramatic scenes between his principals and a
gritty, documentary look for exteriors when combat breaks out. The
film’s observations remain intelligent and timely. Anyone who loves
Monty Python may wonder if the troupe derived much of their inspiration
from the straight-faced absurdity captured here so adroitly.
‘Strangelove’ has been around for 36 years and there are still few
political satires that can equal its sharpness or its staying power.